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,DOCOMENT'RESUME .1 ED 157 798 SE 024- 845 AUTHOR Renner, John W.; And Others TITLE, A Summary of Research in Science Education - 1976. INSTITUTION ERIC Information Analysis Center for Science,. Mathematics, and Environmental Education, Columbus, Ohio.; National Association for Research in Science Teaching. SPONS AGENCY National Inst. of Education ,(DREW), Washington, D.C. PUB DATE 77 NOTE 149p.; For 1975 edition, see ED 148 6024 Contains occasional light and broken type AVAILABLE FROM John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 605 Third Avenue, New York, New York 100,16($8.95) EDRS PRICE MF-$0.83 HC-$7.35 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS college Science; CurriCulum; *Educational Rese4rch;rr *Elementary School Science;",4nstruction; Learning;, Literature Reviews; *Research Reviews (Publications);, *Science Education; *Secondary School Science; Teacher Eduction ABSTRACT This review for 1976 has been issuedto,analyze and synthesize research related to the teaching and learning of science completed during the year. The'review is intended to provide research information for development, personnel, ideas for future research, and an indication of trends in research in science education. Research has been listed in general categories of: (1) Learning and Deielopment; (2) Teaching Methods and Procedures;(3) The,Education of Teachers;(4) Evaluation in Science Education; (5)The' Use of Media in Science Education; (6) The Concepts, Processes and Content of Science; and (7) College Level Research. In all, 327 separate studies are cited in the bibliography and most are mentioned in the' text. Many intermediate 'summations and generalizations are included at the end of sections and subsections. ,(HM) . , *****************************************4-************************** * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * * from the original document. * Age******************##*##*##***********************************#####*#* A SUMMARY OF RESEARCH IN 4. SCIENCE EDUCATION 1976 John W. Renner and Michael R. Abraham University of Oklahoma DonG. Stafford- East Central Oklahoma State University and the University of Oklahoma 4. an Intersciencer Publication published by JOHN WHIT a SONS Now York Chichester Brisbane Toronto p ) O 26 ... ../ 4.. ,7 0 la 1. N , ...../.. This publication was prepared pursuant to a contract with the National Institute of Education,armt Liniketi' States Department of Health. Education, and Welfare. Contractors undertaking such prOjecis under Government sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their judgment inpro- fessional And technicalmattersPoints of view or opinions do not, therefore, necessarily represent National Instit6te of Education position or policy. , . VOI4p1CS prior to 1973 of the SCIENCE RESEARCH REVIEW SERIESare available from "the'SKEAC Information Refer.ence Center, The Ohio-State University, 1200 Chambers Road, Room 310,,Columbus, Ohio 43212. Volumes from 1873 on are available from John Wiley &.Sons, Inc., 605 Third Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10016. ! Single copy pfice for this volume: $8.95 ,L 117L.r.f....f.iffig22311221151111=111145112211555921;g1fflit.', Preface Research Reviews are being issued*to-analyze and synthesize research related to the teaching arid learning of science completed during a oike:year period of time. These re- views are developed in cooperation with the NationalAssociation for Research in Science Teaching. Appointed NARST committees-work with staff of the ERIC Science, Mathematics, and Environmental _Education Information Analysis Center to evaluate, review, analyze, and report research results. It is hoped that these reviews will provide research information for development personnel, ideas for future research, and an indi- cation of trends in research in science education. Your comments and suggestions for this series are invited. 4 STANLEY L. HELGESON PATRICIA E.,BLOSSER ERICISIMEAC f I Foreword When viewing the research done in science\education in a year, one is first nearly overwhelmed with its diversity. If one has agreed to prepare a cogent review of that research, its,diversity immediately becomes the first problem to.be solved, Briefly stated, that problem is: How can flie important work being reviewed be organized into a useful, coherent, eaningfdl pattern? To answer the foregoing question we employed a technique not unlike that used by Mendelyeev when he developed. the first periodic table of the elements. In other words we read abstracts and ported them into groups that had common subject matter. When the abstract left any doubt regarding the subject matter of an item, the original source was consulted before a decision was made. TheNrganizatio'n of this report, therefore, is purely empirical. Those persons who did the research fashioned this report's organization x into seven categories: 1. Learning and Development 2. Teaching Methods and Procedures 3. The Education of Teachers 4. Evaluation in Science Education 5. The Use of Media'in Science Education 6. The Concepts, Processes and Content of Science 7. College Level Research, While each of the foregoing categories constitutes a chapter in this volume, each chapter has an internal organization based upon that chapter's content. Our intent in preparing this report was to'provide a general over view of the research in science education done.in 1976- and to state conclusions and questions arising from the research which might lead other researchers to continue and expand what has been done. A second intention of this report's authors was to ,include a review of those studies that could genuinely be called research. There are, however, other types of activity in science education which will be of intarest ii to science education researchers and which'have been published in some form. A rather complete bibliography of the activities taking place, in science education in 1976 follows the narrative of this report, That bibliography'contains many entries other than theresea h reviewed in a the narrative of the report. The authors express their thanks to DrStanley Helgeson and his staff of Ohio State Universityfor their assistance and patience in searChirg.for and locating the data upon which this report is based. Our thanks are also extended to Donna Abraham who typed the reportts manuscript. Norman, Oklahoma John W. Renner AUgust, 1977 Michael R. Abraham Don d. Stafford .9 4 iii Contents a FOreword ii 4 Learning and Develppment I ir Research \Vial the Ausu an Theory, ,, 1 Research With the Piagetian 'Paradigm-L.- ePheI:Nleasurome.nt 4 Research With the Piagetian Paradigm-- Phase II:CUrriculum 14 N 00 Teaching Methods and Procedures 18 Research in the Mcthod5 and Procedures'of 0 f s r Teaching Elementary' Sc-ho-ol Science ° e 18 Research in the MethOsand Procedures of .' TeachingXecondary School Science 25 . , The Education of Teacherg . 34 Research in Elementary School Science Teacher Education ',3i. Research in Secondary School 'Science Teacher Education . 10 Research in Science Teacher Education in K-12 : 47 Research in inservice Teacher Education 49' - Evaluation in Scienei: Education , , 51', Evaluation Surve s , 51- Curriculum Evaluation 4 54, v . , (.10 Affective Studies . 3 Li . Instrument De,elopment Evaluation Methodology 69 , . The Use of Media in Scienc6 Education L 74 The Concepts, Processes,' qnd COntent ofScience '81 ' Syllabi 81 Specific Content, Concept, and Processes . 83 College,LeIel Research 88 Component Comparisons 89. InMructors and Students 108 pefereaes 113 nil Summa y ofesearch in Sciem, Eau aeon 1976 -JOHN W. RENNERan MICHAEL R. ABRAHAM University of Oklahoma . Norman, Oklahoma 73019 and DON G. STAFFORD East Central Oklahoma State University Ada, Oklahoma 7-182:0 -and University of Oklahoma . Norman, Oklahoma 73019, \ Leatiling'and Developmertt The research done in the category of "Learning and Development" during 1976 focused upon the thecicTes of David.Ausubel and Jean Piaget. One study was designed to compare the theories of Piaget, Vygotsky, and Ausubel, four studies considered the work of Ausubel and a total .of 21 studies examined the paradigm proposed by Piaget. The four studies considering the Ausubefian theory tested the efficacy of the advance organizer concept. The workfocusing on the Piagetian theory considered the measurement of levels of intellectual development or the influence of the theory upon curriculum, Research With the Ausubelian Theory The four studies reported which considered the advance dtganizet technique were made at three different educational levels. Theseleveli are the ninth and twelfth grades, college level physical science for non-science majors, and college juniors in teacher education program. 0 Murchison (203)eeploredthe usefulness of the advance' organizer concept in thehing science to ninth graders. Four groups of students were formed and oach exposed to a different organizer: a pretest, a concrete organizer, an abstract organizer, and a control. The groups. were brought together_ immediately after ,experiencing the organiZer, given a lecture on sound waves and then administereda two-part test. The student groups were matched on IQ, sex,andteachei-determined motivation ranking. 6 2 The pretest was the same as the test (od.sounCwaves) given after the lecture, and-the concrete and abstract organizers involved generalized . wave theo'ry. One part of the test involved rote material and all questions, which had been answdted in the lecture. The second part of . the Test required abstract and/or problem solving ability.Murchison found that, when abstract material